


New Challenger!!

by SimplyShiori



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Friendship through gaming, Gaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 20:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1831360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyShiori/pseuds/SimplyShiori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kozume never plays games with other people, it's usually just him and some NPC computerized opponent. So when Kuroo finds out that the new "Raid" game Kozume has been playing is an MMO, he can't help but question why. And Kozume can't really explain why this one is so different from the others but it's the only game he can play with others that he's okay with, no, not with others, just with a Great White Shark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Challenger!!

“So there’re real people playing?” Kuroo questions as he and Kozume wait for the train. Beside them, far off, the sun is fading behind the horizon and the small twinkles of stars are slowly starting to show; practice was longer than usual today, probably due to the upcoming practice match between Nekoma and Karasuno. “Yeah,” Kozume answers, simply and short, amber eyes glued to his cellphone, tapping at a few things, building defenses most likely, before he takes a quick glance at his friend, almost hesitant in asking but doing so anyways, “Why?” Kuroo looks down to see Kozume, considering he was standing while the other sits on a bench, “You usually don’t play with others is all.” A light blush comes to his cheeks as he directs his attention back to the game, “This one, this one is different.” His voice just seemed so strange to his ears that Kuroo had to look back at him. “And what’s so different about it?” Kozume stares thoughtfully at the screen as another in-game message appears on the side chat bar, “I’m not sure.”

 

22:10 - Hohojirozame says: Do you think we should attack Human-Net’s castle at dawn or in the dead of night? I vote night.

22:10 - Hohojirozame: B-but your opinion matters too, whatever you think is good.

22:10 - Kuro-Neko: No, I agree, nite is best. 1am?

21:11 - Hohojirozame: Y-Yes, sounds great! I’ll get mine ready. （●＾o＾●）

A small smile tugs at Kozume’s lips as he sets up about half of his troops — all six hundred and seventy-seven of them — for the up and coming invasion on the user Human-Net’s castle in the conquest-type app game “Raid” he downloaded over two months ago. He could only imagine user Hohojirozame, his partner-in-crime in this little escapade, doing the same. He rolls in his bed, device still in hand, as the little soldiers line up and prep themselves for combat and he thinks back to the first time he met Hohojirozame. Well, technically he has never _met_ Hohojirozame so he thinks more so on the first contact the two ever made.

He was still pretty new to the game then — Level 12 — when he decided to go against a user of his same level with the username Hohojirozame. It was truly their name that made him choose them as an opponent, their name made them seem strong and Kozume enjoyed going against strong opponents, it wouldn’t be any fun if he just beat everyone he came across now would it? So, he sets up his small army and his miniature troops marched their way into Hohojirozame’s territory when a bright pink icon suddenly appears and a little ping was heard. “Enemies spotted on the main trail!” He read and there were only two possible explanations for such, according to the gaming rules and his current location, either he made a wrong turn and was headed to someone else’s land or the same time he decided to invade Hohojirozame was the same time Hohojirozame decided to invade him. It turned out to be the latter.  
A selection screen popped up with the option to retreat back (with minimal casualties) or to advance the enemy (mini-war on the field), undoubtedly he chose the second option, preparing to take down the enemy and continue his advancement so he pillage them for all their worth. Hohojirozame choose the same.  
It ended in a mirroring-strategic stalemate, one that surprised Kozume, it was as if he and whoever Hohojirozame was were thinking the same way. If he was being defensive, so were they, if they were being offensive so was he and considering there is no way to predict your opponents’ actions other than personal observation, this was near baffling. When troops on both sides were expended and the screen swirled black before coming back and showing his own base, Kozume held a small smirk that was soon replaced with a questionable stare when the little icon in the top left corner, that usually held a “0” in red, shook and the number “1” plastered in the center, turning it green.

21:29 - Hohojirozame says: GG

And the customary “GG” or “good game” after a match shouldn’t have done anything but be that, customary and complimentary, but for some reason, and maybe it was because they were the first person to send him any kind of message in the game (even though he has been in over twenty-five battles already) that made Kozume feel the need to respond, so he did.

21:30 - Kuro-Neko says: yea, u 2

It should have ended at that, Kozume believed it was going to end at that point because after all it was just a customary comment but then, the little icon shook again and lo and behold, he received another message.

21: 31 - Hohojirozame says: Sorry, not to be a bother but I saw that you have an Elder Eye with you, where did you find it?

A second message suddenly appeared underneath it.

21:31 - Hohojirozame says: If you don’t mind that is, sorry.

Okay, that made sense, they needed help. And Kozume isn’t one of those players that are so arrogant they act as if they couldn’t help someone out; noobs are people too. 

21:32 - Kuro-Neko says: dungeon of unipex.

He pondered for a split second; he spent seven freaking nights — and not in-game nights either but real life night nights — on that dungeon, trying to get that stupid Elder Eye and lost over twenty thousand soldiers during that time. And he had the Valiant Archer (now upgraded and unstoppable) back then, someone he assumes Hohojirozame either a. doesn’t have or b. left back at their base and he has a feeling that it’s the former. And before he can continue his wonderment on what to do, another message appears.

21:33 - Hohojirozame says: O-oh, thank you, thank you very much, sorry for bothering you.

He has concluded that Hohojirozame is a person with high levels of anxiety, considering the amount of apologizes they’ve sent him in such a sort amount of time and part of him feels like he can relate. He himself one to fade into the background and go unnoticed but yet he’s hyper-aware of what goes on around him and thus he is self-conscious about what people think. They must be just as self-conscious as him.

21:33 - Kuro-Neko says: do u want sum help?

And his heart is pounding in his chest because Lord knows he doesn’t want to be rejected in a game, games have always been a sanctuary to him but Kozume is so used to single player games that this MMO “Raid” is new and different but felt like a single player game all this time because he hasn’t done any dungeons, missions, or special events in a team. No, he’s been playing it by himself for the past month, even forgot it was an MMO at times. He wants to close the app now, close it out, pull out his PSP and play something else because the silence is killing him and the rejection is almost suffocating and he shouldn’t have put himself out there like that. He wasn’t ready for such a burden to be place on him as he waits in the titter-totter of acceptance or rejection but then a message pops up and his eyes dart to it.

21:35 - Hohojirozame says: Oh my...yes! Yes! So much yes! Thank you, thank you so much. Dungeons are really hard when you do them by yourself.

And Kozume smiles as he reads the words over and nods even though he knows no one can see him before his skillful fingers move over his on-screen keyboard.

21:35 - Kuro-Neko says: yea, took me a while to get it when i did it by myself.

21:36 - Hohojirozame says: Wow, you completed a dungeon by yourself!? That’s so cool! ( ﾟдﾟ) You must be really good at this game! Ah, thank you for helping a newbie like me! We can do Unipex whenever you’re ready, anytime; just let me know, okay? Thanks again, you’re wonderful! (✿◠‿◠)

That was the comment that made Kozume blush, people have said nice things about him before, nice serve, nice receive, good job Kozume, you help us hold together, and things along those line concerning volleyball but never has anyone called him wonderful in gaming before. The little vibration of a new message brought him back; he didn’t even realize that he was spacing out.

21:41 - Hohojirozame says: Ah! I’m sorry, that was probably too much, sorry I was excited, sorry. (；一_一)

“No, no, no, it’s alright,” Kozume says aloud before typing in such, though it was muddled down to a simple “no its ok i dont mind” in text. He was answered with another smiley emoji; he smiled in return.

21:50 - Kuro-Neko says: if u want we culd start unipex 2nite...i have a bit of free tym rite now

21:51 - Hohojirozame says: Oh yes definitely, thank you! Um, my troops are almost done too so I’ll send you a party invite...is that okay?

21:51 - Kuro-Neko says: yea, thats fine

About a minute passed before the invite came.

 

It took them three nights to clear the Dungeon of Unipex; three fun-filled, humorous, apology-riddled, emoji-packed nights and Kozume couldn’t help but to smile through it all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Um, this is my first drabble/fic for Haikyuu!! I may continue it and maybe have Kozume and Hohojirozame meet up or something, I'm not sure yet, I probably will though but yeah, we'll see. Oh yeah, and so the summary actually makes sense, if you guys haven't already gotten it, which I'm sure you did, Hohojirozame (according to Google Translate) means Great White Shark. Thanks again. Criticism is welcomed!


End file.
